Chapter 6 #2
Katrina was about to ask if there were people in the SEALs he could talk to after something like that, but all that came out was a gasp when she stumbled over something and almost fell. Darwin tightened his grip on her hand, keeping her from completely embarrassing herself and falling on her butt.
“What the hell?” Darwin murmured.
For a second, Katrina thought he was asking why she was so clumsy, until she realized he wasn’t looking at her. Instead, he was focused on whatever she’d fallen over.
She leaned closer, trying to see what he was looking at, but the shadows cast by the trellises were obscuring it.
At least until Darwin took out his phone and illuminated the scene.
That’s when she recognized exactly what the shape on the ground was.
And the large pool of darkness surrounding the still form.
Katrina might have screamed. She wasn’t quite sure because she was more concerned with scrambling away from the dead body. The only thing that stopped her retreat was the grape trellis she backed into.
“Who is that?” she asked in a trembling voice.
Darwin didn’t answer. Instead, he crouched down and rolled the man over, then reached out to press two fingers against the side of the man’s neck.
“Oh, crap,” Darwin muttered.
Not sure she really wanted to know what he was talking about, Katrina found herself inching closer anyway.
The man’s crisp white dress shirt was soaked red with blood.
And there, to the left side of the material covering the man’s chest, was a neat hole the size of her pinkie finger. He’d been shot.
Her gaze traveled upward to the man’s face, and she gasped when she realized it was Arthur Davis, one of the men who’d argued with her father that morning. The same Arthur Davis who’d been with Rhett on the vineyard tour today.
Yeah.
Oh, crap was a good way to put it.
* * * * *
“Tell me again what the two of you were doing out there in the grape fields at this time of night?” Detective Ferguson from the Escondido Police Department asked, pen still poised over his spiral notebook, his expression suggesting he wouldn’t believe them any better this time around than he had before.
Darwin had to bite his tongue to keep from saying something he shouldn’t, instead glancing at the many vehicles parked in front of the resort.
In addition to Ferguson’s unmarked car, there were a few patrol cruisers, an ambulance, a crime scene SUV, and the medical examiner’s vehicle.
For reasons that didn’t make a lot of sense to him, they all had their lights on, illuminating everything with strobing red and blue flashes.
Guests there for the wedding were gathered around in small groups, taking in the scene like it was something from a movie.
Katrina’s parents, sister, and brother looked particularly curious.
“As we’ve already told you, Katrina and I were taking part in a scavenger hunt and were looking for a red potted plant so we could take a picture of it,” Darwin said, turning back to the gray-haired detective and once more holding up the scavenger list.
Ferguson had been there for almost two hours, and the man still seemed more interested in poking holes in their explanation of events than in figuring out who killed Arthur Davis.
The detective lifted a brow. “And you expected to find this potted plant in the middle of the grape fields?”
“The clue said to look for the plant where it should be, but where you’ll never think to look,” Katrina said. “Plants grow in the ground, and the fields behind the resort were definitely the last place we expected it to be.”
“Uh-huh,” Ferguson said. “And you just happened to stumble over the body?”
“Well, he was on the ground,” Darwin said, fully aware he probably sounded like a smart-ass and not caring. He and Katrina found Arthur’s body. They didn’t murder the guy. “And it was dark.”
Ferguson’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think I appreciate your tone, Mr. Sutton.”
Well, Darwin didn’t appreciate his treating them like suspects. Before he could say as much, Katrina spoke.
“Detective, it really was dark out there, and we were talking, so we weren’t paying attention to where we were going.”
The detective didn’t seem like he believed them, but apparently couldn’t figure out a way to prove they were lying.
Ferguson gave Darwin a sharp look. “You already admitted to checking for a pulse. If you knew the man was dead, why did you flip him over?”
“Because checking his pulse only told me that Arthur’s heart wasn’t beating.
He could have had a heart attack for all I knew.
I flipped him over, ready to start doing CPR,” Darwin explained.
“Then I saw the large bore rifle bullet hole through the heart. That’s when I realized that there was nothing I could do. ”
“Rifle bullet?” Ferguson repeated with another eyebrow twitch. “What, you’re a CSI tech now? Expert on cause of death and bullet caliber, are you?”
“No, I’m not a CSI tech,” Darwin said, pretty much done with this idiot.
“But I am a Navy SEAL, and I’ve seen at least a hundred gunshot wounds.
I know the difference between the entry wounds made by a handgun versus a rifle.
This was definitely a good-sized rifle. And based on the angle of the wound, it’s likely the shot came from above.
Like the killer had forced Arthur Davis to kneel on the ground before shooting him. ”
Ferguson didn’t have anything to say to that, but only because his attention was drawn to Jameson and Rhett walking toward them, along with a harried-looking man in a slightly rumpled suit.
“Chief Vaughn,” Ferguson said, standing up a little straighter. “I didn’t realize anyone had called you in for this one. I would have given you a report in the morning.”
Vaughn ignored Darwin and Katrina, regarding the detective like he thought Ferguson was an idiot.
“The Weber family are important members of our city, owners of one of the most profitable businesses in this part of California, and key contributors to the mayor’s campaign,” the chief said.
“Of course, someone called me after a body had been discovered on their property. The only question I have is why you, the detective on scene, didn’t do it first? ”
Darwin had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. Having gotten yelled at a few times in BUDs until it practically made his ears bleed, he couldn’t help being amused when Ferguson’s face reddened at what could only be described as a mild dressing down.
“Fortunately, it turns out that the victim isn’t related to the Weber family or their vineyard,” the chief continued before Ferguson could say anything. “This was clearly a body dump. Arthur Davis was killed somewhere else and the body dumped in the vineyard.”
Ferguson stared at his boss, clearly stunned.
Darwin was right there with him.
“But Chief, we’re still looking at the connection between our murder victim and people at the resort,” the detective said. “We have witnesses that place him with several guests here for the wedding.”
Darwin expected Ferguson to tell his boss that he and Katrina were those witnesses, and that they’d seen Arthur Davis with both Jameson and Rhett. Maybe Ferguson wasn’t as dumb as he seemed.
“Arthur Davis was here, but he certainly wasn’t invited––or wanted,” Rhett said.
“He came onto resort property without anyone knowing and tried to take part in various conversations he had no business in. I never talked to him personally, but when security confirmed his identity, they escorted him off the property. He was an unsavory type and not someone that should be at my sister’s wedding. ”
As he finished speaking, Rhett pinned Darwin and Katrina with a hard look, like he was daring them to disagree with him.
“And considering the fact that he ended up dead from a gunshot wound, you were right,” Chief Vaughn said.
“I have no doubt that when we do our background check on this guy, we’ll find a long criminal history.
However, since Arthur Davis was found at the Weber Vineyards, I’ll be spearheading this investigation myself.
Things like this aren’t good for business. ”
Telling Ferguson to wrap up, Vaughn walked away with Jameson and Rhett, chatting with him about the various events planned this weekend as part of the wedding.
“What the heck just happened?” Katrina asked.
“They’re burying the case,” Darwin murmured, glancing at Ferguson, who was still standing there with a shocked expression on his face. “Is that something that happens frequently in this town?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Ferguson said quietly, more to himself than to them. “At least, I don’t think it does. Then again, I never would have expected the chief to lie about this being a body dump either.”
“So, it wasn’t a body dump?” Katrina asked, sounding confused as she looked back and forth between Darwin and the detective.
“No,” Darwin answered. “The dirt under the body was soaked with fresh blood––a lot of fresh blood. He bled out where he fell, probably less than an hour before we found him. And before you ask, Detective, yes, I’ve seen enough people bleed out from bullet wounds to know how fast blood dries.”
Beside Darwin, Katrina’s gaze went to where her father and brother were still standing with the police chief, a frown creasing her brow.
“What are you going to do, Detective?” she asked, turning back to the man.
“What can I do?” Ferguson said. “The chief of police has decided to lead this investigation personally. All I can do is collect the evidence and hope he’ll make use of it.”
Ferguson handed Darwin his card, then gave them a nod and headed toward the medical examiner’s van. The moment he walked away, Rhett hurried over.
“What the heck is going on?” Katrina demanded before her brother could say anything.
“And I don’t want to hear that Arthur Davis was some random guy who showed up here uninvited.
Darwin and I saw you talking to him, and while we might not know what you were discussing, it’s clear you knew him, and that you and Dad were probably working with him. ”
Rhett pinned her with a look. “You need to forget everything you think you saw. You’re messing with things that could get you in serious trouble––or worse. So, for your own good, let it go, okay?”
Darwin tensed at the angry expression that suddenly crossed Rhett’s face, wondering if Katrina’s brother was about do something he was going to regret.
But then, a second later, the man’s expression went from fierce to desperate, making Darwin think he was truly worried about his sister getting hurt.
Katrina, however, completely misinterpreted her brother’s concern. “Is that a threat? This Davis guy gets in the way of a potential profit, so he shows up dead with a bullet through his chest? If I keep poking around, am I going to end up with a bullet in me, too?”
Rhett recoiled as if she’d smacked him. “Don’t be stupid! I’m trying to protect you and the rest of our family, like Dad taught us. Stop involving yourself in stuff you don’t understand. Just turn your back on it. After all, isn’t that what you’re best at?”
Darwin took a step forward, ready to tell him to go to hell, but Rhett stormed off, striding past the group of people still gathered in front of the resort and disappearing inside with his fiancée.
Darwin had met the quiet redhead at the meet-and-greet the other night, and while he didn’t know her well, he couldn’t mistake how worried she looked.
Sighing, Darwin turned to see Katrina standing there with a disappointed look on her face.
“You okay?” he asked softly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a hug. “You want me to track him down and thump him for you?”
Katrina snorted out a laugh, stepping back to look up at him. “No, I don’t want you to thump him. One, I don’t want you getting in trouble. And two, it wouldn’t do any good. My brother’s head is too thick for the message to get through.”
She was probably right about that, he thought, watching as the medical examiner’s vehicle left, immediately followed by the ambulance and police cruisers, Ferguson’s unmarked sedan pulling up the rear.
After that, the people who’d still been standing around went back inside the resort, leaving him and Katrina alone.
“You know,” Darwin said, “I really think your brother is concerned about keeping you safe.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe he’s just doing what Dad taught us. Protecting the family. Even if it means that innocent people get hurt.”
Darwin wasn’t sure if Katrina was referring to Arthur Davis or someone else.
“Do you think your brother and father are somehow involved in Arthur Davis’s death?”
“I hope not, but I don’t know,” Katrina finally admitted a long moment later. “I can’t believe they’ve changed that much from the father and brother I grew up with. They’re still my family, even if we aren’t as close as we were.”
Darwin didn’t point out that she was letting her emotions rule her head, because seriously, was she wrong to do that?
As she said, they were family. Besides, from that conversation he’d overheard between Rhett and Arthur, it sounded like her brother was more likely to be the killer’s next victim than a murderer.
He probably shouldn’t mention that to Katrina, though.
“If it makes you feel any better, there is someone else we need to consider when it comes to Arthur Davis’s murder,” Darwin said.
“Who?”
“Upton,” Darwin said, then immediately held up his hands at the look of disbelief on her face.
“I know it sounds insane. The guy doesn’t exactly come across as the cold-blooded killer type.
But we did see him coming out of the grape fields shortly before we stumbled over Arthur’s body.
Are we honestly supposed to believe he was out there doing the scavenger hunt by himself? You have to admit, it’s convenient.”
And suspicious.